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Founded in 1944, the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science develops philanthropic support for the Weizmann Institute in Israel, and advances its mission of science for the future of humanity.
Oct 27, 2020...
Small shadowed cold traps scattered across the lunar polar regions could contain up to 20 percent of the frozen water on the Moon, making accessing water sources easier for lunar visitors.
“Future lunar rovers may have a hard time driving into a large dark crater with extremely low temperatures. Small cold traps are far more accessible,” Planetary Science Institute Senior Scientist Norbert Schorghofer said. “Approximately 10 to 20% of the permanent cold-trap area for water is found to be contained in these micro cold traps. In terms of numbers, most cold traps are smaller than 1 meter.”
Dec 18, 2020... On December 21, 2020, stargazers are in for a once-in-a-lifetime cosmic event: Jupiter and Saturn will appear closer together than at any time in almost 400 years, in an event known as a great conjunction. Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions happen every 20 years. But this year’s happening will be the closest the planets have come since 1623. In this video, Ilan Manulis, Director of the Weizmann Institute’s Martin S. Kraar Observatory explains the science behind this celestial event and shares how to watch it.
Jan 12, 2021... In this special session, Prof. Avishay Gal-Yam, Weizmann’s supernova hunter, takes us to the Frontiers of the Universe: one of the Institute’s new flagship projects. From studying the tiniest subatomic particles to the far reaches of the galaxy, this initiative aims to put the Institute at the very forefront of advanced physics research – and even into space.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/blog/star-frequency-tuning-in-to-radio-signals-from-space/
Jan 27, 2021...
As we continue to be isolated so much of the time, it can be comforting (or not, depending) to know that we might not be alone. For instance, we recently encountered what the great Carl Zimmer characterized thusly: “A spooky radio signal showed up after a radio telescope was aimed at the next star over from our sun.”
The mysterious beam was the first big breakthrough from the Breakthrough Listen initiative – part of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program – which scans the galaxy’s radio waves, looking for signals from intelligent life.
Jan 28, 2021... This webinar introduces Weizmann’s flagship Frontiers of the Universe initiative. Frontiers of the Universe will advance the Institute’s pioneering efforts to understand the nature of space, time, and life itself—from the tiniest subatomic particles to the largest galaxies.
Apr 21, 2021... In the latest episode of “Weizmann in Focus,” Dave Doneson invites us to gaze up at the stars and planets—and learn about the Institute’s efforts to uncover the mysteries of the cosmos. Dave highlights the ULTRASAT satellite mission, part of Weizmann’s flagship Frontiers of the Universe initiative, which will search for cosmic events such as supernovas and black holes. It will then alert astronomers around the world in real time to their occurrence. In partnership with NASA and others, Institute scientists plan to launch ULTRASAT into space in 2023.
Jun 14, 2021...
For something that was to have been done and thrown away three years ago, NASA’s Juno spacecraft has a busy schedule ahead exploring Jupiter and its big moons.
The spacecraft entered orbit around Jupiter on July 4, 2016, and has survived bombardment from intense radiation at the largest of the solar system’s planets. It is now finishing its primary mission, but NASA has granted it a four-year extension and 42 more orbits. Last week, it zipped past Ganymede, Jupiter’s largest moon.
Jul 19, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—July 19, 2021—Until recently, before NASA’s Juno space probe entered its orbit around the planet Jupiter, no one knew that powerful cyclones approximately the size of Australia rage across its polar regions. Jupiter’s storms, as opposed to the earthly variety, do not disperse and rarely change. In an article published in Nature Geoscience, researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science reveal the mysteries of Jupiter’s cyclones: which forces affix these gargantuan storms to their polar locations and why the storms’ numbers and locations remain more or less constant over time.
Oct 28, 2021... REHOVOT, ISRAEL—October 28, 2021—Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is up there with the rings of Saturn and the blue marble of Earth for solar system icon status. In a study published today in Science, Weizmann Institute of Science researchers and their collaborators on NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter report that this spot – really a giant, persistent storm – extends to a depth of about 500 kilometers below the planet’s clouds. This revelation is among the mission’s findings being presented at a NASA press conference tonight and published in Science and in Geophysical Research Letters.
https://www.weizmann-usa.org/news-media/news-releases/going-out-with-a-bang/
Jan 12, 2022...
REHOVOT, ISRAEL—January 12, 2021—In the not-so-distant past, the discovery of a supernova—or exploding star—was considered a rare occasion.
When Prof. Avishay Gal-Yam of the Weizmann Institute’s Particle Physics and Astrophysics Department was a doctoral student, he only located seven supernovas over the course of four years. But today, advanced measuring instruments and analytical methods make it possible to detect fifty such explosions daily. While these improved means may have made these celestial events somewhat less notable over the years, the greater number of observations has also increased the probability that researchers will spot rarer types of explosions that have so far existed only as theoretical constructs. Gal-Yam and his colleagues recently discovered a rare-type supernova that has never been observed before. Their findings are being published today in Nature.
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